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Hundreds of Southwest flights delayed at BWI, following a pause

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A Southwest Airlines plane in November. A flight attendant for Southwest was allegedly struck by a passenger and lost two teeth in the latest in a rash of violent attacks on planes.
Ted S. Warren

Passengers can check the status of their flighthere.

More than 100 Southwest Airlines flights at BWI Marshall Airport were delayed Tuesday morning, after the airline asked the Federal Aviation Administration for a nationwide pause on departures due to a firewall failure.

A few hours later, the airline resumed operations.

In a statement, the company thanked customers and employees for their patience during the disruption.

The airline has a strong presence at BWI, solely occupying two concourses.

In an email, Jonathan Dean, BWI spokesperson, said “ticketing is moving quickly, with no passenger lines.”

Data from Flight Aware shows over 50% of flight delays, as of late this afternoon.

NPR Transportation Correspondent, David Schaper, says the airline may want to get away from its current systems.

“Patience is wearing thin with a lot of Southwest customers because of past problems they've had,” said Schaper. “They had this crew scheduling software that failed over the holidays and computer glitches have actually become somewhat common.”

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Wambui Kamau is a General Assignment Reporter for WYPR. @WkThee
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